Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, at the confluence of the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Thompson River The South Thompson River is the southern branch of the Thompson River, the largest tributary of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates at the outlet of Little Shuswap Lake at the town of Chase and flows app ...

s, which join to become the

Thompson River The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The river ...

in Kamloops, and east of

Kamloops Lake Kamloops Lake in British Columbia, Canada is situated on the Thompson River just west of Kamloops. The lake is 1.6 km wide, 29 km long, and up to 152 m deep. In prehistoric time, the lake was much longer, perhaps 20x, with adjacent sil ...

. The city is the administrative centre for, and largest city in, the

Thompson-Nicola Regional District The Thompson–Nicola Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Canada 2021 Census population was 143,680 and the area covers 44,449.49 square kilometres. The administrative offices are in the ma ...

, a region of the

British Columbia Interior The British Columbia Interior, popularly referred to as the BC Interior or simply the Interior, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. While the exact boundaries are variously defined, the British Columbia Interior ...

. The city was incorporated in 1893 with about 500 residents. The

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

was completed through downtown in 1886, and the

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

arrived in 1912, making Kamloops an important transportation hub.

Kamloops North station Kamloops North station is a railway station in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. It is on the Canadian National Railway mainline and is located at the Canadian National Railway Yards. The station is served by Via Rail's ''Canadian'' train. See ...

is the first stop on

VIA Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

's eastbound transcontinental service, ''

The Canadian ''The Canadian'' () is a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Pacific introduced this serv ...

'', while the

Rocky Mountaineer The Rocky Mountaineer is a Canadian rail-tour company based in Vancouver that operates luxury scenic trains on four rail routes in British Columbia, Alberta, Colorado, and Utah. History Via Rail Canada The Rocky Mountaineer concept was creat ...

and the

Kamloops Heritage Railway The Kamloops Heritage Railway is a heritage railway in Kamloops, British Columbia. The railway used to operate throughout the year running trains within Kamloops. The train was pulled by restored steam locomotive Canadian National Railway #2141, ...

both use

Kamloops station Kamloops station is a railway station in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the overnight stopover point for the Rocky Mountaineer train service to Jasper and Banff from Vancouver. The station was originally built for Canadian Nat ...

. With a 2021 population of 97,902, it is the twelfth largest municipality in the province. The Kamloops

census agglomeration The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...

is ranked 36th among census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada with a 2021 population of 114,142. A

college town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

, Kamloops is home to

Thompson Rivers University Thompson Rivers University (commonly referred to as TRU) is a Public university, public research university located in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. The university's name comes from the two rivers which converge in Kamloops, the North Thomp ...

as well as the Royal Inland Hospital and the

British Columbia Lottery Corporation The British Columbia Lottery Corporation is a Canadian Crown corporation that manages all legal gambling (AKA gaming) products in British Columbia including lottery tickets, casinos and online gambling. It is based in Kamloops, with a secondar ...

, all of which significantly shape the city's economy. Kamloops is promoted as the ''Tournament Capital of Canada''. It hosts more than 100 sporting tournaments each year at facilities such as the

Tournament Capital Centre The Tournament Capital Centre is a facility next to Thompson Rivers University's campus. It hosts the Thompson Rivers WolfPack Basketball games. "The Fieldhouse consists of an indoor 6 lane, 200 metre track surrounding three NBA size basketbal ...

Sandman Centre The Sandman Centre (formerly known as Riverside Coliseum and Interior Savings Centre) is a 5,464-seat multi-purpose arena in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Kamloops Blazers ice hockey team. The arena is owned by the City of ...

, and Tournament Capital Ranch. More recently, Kamloops has become a

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

destination; home to Canada's largest municipal bike park, the 26-hectare Kamloops Bike Ranch, the city is often described as the birthplace of freeride mountain biking.

History

The first European explorers arrived in 1811. David Stuart, a trader sent from

Fort Astoria Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary Fur trade, fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the ''Tonquin (1807 ship), Tonquin'', while another party tra ...

, then still a

Pacific Fur Company The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades among the United Kingdom of G ...

post, spent a winter with the

Secwépemc The Secwépemc ( ; Secwepemctsín: or ), also known by the exonym Shuswap ( ), are a First Nations people residing in the interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. They speak one of the Salishan languages, known as Secwepemctsí ...

people. In May of the following year, trader Alexander Ross established a post, which was known as "Fort Cumcloups". The rival

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

established Fort Shuswap nearby in the same year. The two businesses merged in 1813 when the North West Company bought the operations of the Pacific Fur Company. In 1821, the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

merged with the North West Company, and the post became known commonly as Thompson's River Post, or Fort Thompson. Later it was known as Fort Kamloops. The post's Chief Traders kept journals, which document a series of inter-Indian wars and personalities for the period, in addition to the daily business of the fur companies and their personnel along the entire

Pacific Slope The Pacific Slope describes geographic regions in North American, Central American, and South American countries that are west of the continental divide and slope down to the Pacific Ocean. In North America, the Rocky Mountains mark the eastern bo ...

. Soon after the forts were founded, Kwa'lila, chief of the main local village of the Secwépemc, moved his people closer to the

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

, so they could control access and gain in prestige and security. After Kwa'lila died, his nephew and foster son Nicola became chief. He later led an alliance of

Syilx The Syilx () people, also known as the Okanagan, Suknaqinx, or Okinagan people, are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations and Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–United St ...

(Okanagan) and

Nlaka'pamux The Nlakaʼpamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', '' Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''K ...

peoples in the plateau country to the south around Stump, Nicola and

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

lakes. Relations between Nicola and the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

rs were often tense, but Chief Nicola was recognized for his aid to colonizers during the

Fraser Canyon Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's ...

of 1858. He did try to control those who had been in parties waging violence and looting on the

Okanagan Trail The Okanagan Trail was an inland route to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush from the Lower Columbia region of the Washington and Oregon Territories in 1858–1859. The route was essentially the same as that used by the Hudson's Bay Company fur brig ...

, which led from American territory to the Fraser goldfields. Throughout, Kamloops was an important way station on the route of the

Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail The Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail, sometimes referred to simply as the Brigade Trail, refers to one of two routes used by Hudson's Bay Company fur traders to transport furs, goods and supplies between coastal and Columbia District headquarters at For ...

, which connected

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...

with

Fort Alexandria Alexandria or Fort Alexandria was a general area encompassing a trading post, ferry site, and steamboat landing in the North Cariboo region of central British Columbia. The present unincorporated community is on the eastern side of the Fraser ...

and the other forts in

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

to the north (today's

Omineca Country The Omineca Country, also called the Omineca District or the Omineca, is a historical geographic region of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, roughly defined by the basin of the Omineca River but including areas to the south which allowed ...

, roughly). It was integral during the onset of the

Cariboo Gold Rush The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Colony of British Columbia, which later became the Canadian province of British Columbia. The first gold discovery was made at Hills Bar in 1858, followed by more strikes in 1859 on the Horsefly Ri ...

as the main route to the new goldfields around what was to become

Barkerville Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, which ...

. The

1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic was a smallpox outbreak that started in Victoria on Vancouver Island and spread among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and into the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, ki ...

swept through the Kamloops area during the summer of that year, decimating the Secwepemc, Nlaka'pamux, and other indigenous peoples. They had no acquired immunity. The epidemic had started in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and quickly spread throughout British Columbia, especially among First Nations. In June 1862, indigenous people went to Fort Kamloops seeking

smallpox vaccine The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox infection caused by the variola virus. It is the first vaccine to have been developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with th ...

, William Manson, chief clerk at the fort, vaccinated numerous persons, but fatalities were extremely high. In late September he reported "smallpox still raging amongst the Indians". In October a newspaper in Victoria reported an eyewitness account from Fort Kamloops, saying

The Indians have been nearly exterminated at amloops only sixteen have escaped out of a large settlement. Their bodies are strewing the ground in all directions.

About two-thirds of the Secwepemc died during the epidemic. In the aftermath, colonists took over traditional lands of the Secwepemc and many other indigenous groups throughout British Columbia. The gold rush of the 1860s and the construction of the

, which reached Kamloops from the West in 1885, brought further growth. The City of Kamloops was incorporated in 1893 with a population of about 500, mostly concentrated in the West End. In 1908 due to the

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

Pandemic a sanatorium was opened west of the city named King Edward Memorial Sanatorium, the sanatorium was later acquired by the provincial government in 1921, being renamed to Tranquille Sanatorium, it later closed in 1958. The Tranquille Institution reopened in 1959 to treat people with mental problems it later closed in 1983. In 1967, Kamloops amalgamated with the Town of North Kamloops. In 1973, Kamloops amalgamated with the Districts of Brocklehurst, Dufferin, the Town of Valleyview, and the

Kamloops Indian Band Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the administrative centre ...

, and the communities of Dallas, Campbell Creek, Barnhart Vale, Heffley Creek, Rayleigh, Westsyde and Knutsford. In 1976, the Kamloops Indian Band split from the City of Kamloops. In May 2021, an anthropologist announced she had used

ground-penetrating radar Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying the sub-surface to investigate underground utilities such as concrete, asphalt, metals, pipes, cables ...

to find "probable" graves containing the remains of 215 children found at a former Kamloops Indian residential school, part of the

Canadian Indian residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The sch ...

. The story was reported around the world, and five

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

churches in Western Canada were burned down in the weeks following, since the school was operated by a Catholic order. However, this story cannot be completely confirmed until bodies are exhumed.

Etymology

"Kamloops" is the anglicized version of the Shuswap word "", meaning "meeting of the waters". Shuswap is still spoken in the area by members of the Tk'emlúps Indian Band.Tk'emlúps Indian Band
Tk'emlúps History
2011. Accessed 1 June 2011. An alternate origin sometimes given for the name may have come from the native name's accidental similarity to the French "", meaning "Camp of Wolves"; many early

fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

s were ethnic French. There are folk stories about an attack on a traders' camp by a pack of wolves. Other legendary versions recount a huge white wolf, or a pack of wolves and other animals, that were moving overland from the

Nicola Country The Nicola Country, also known as the Nicola Valley and often referred to simply as The Nicola, and originally Nicolas' Country or Nicholas' Country, adapted to Nicola's Country and simplified since, is a region in the British Columbia Interior, S ...

and were repelled by a single shot by John Tod, then Chief Trader. This prevented the wolves from attacking the fort and earned Tod a great degree of respect locally.

Geography

Kamloops is in the Thompson Valley and the

Montane Cordillera The Montane Cordillera Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is an ecozone in south-central British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, Canada (an ecozone is equivalent to a Level I ecoregion in the United St ...

Ecozone. The city's centre is in the valley near the confluence of the Thompson River's north and south branches. Suburbs stretch for more than a dozen kilometres along the north and south branches, as well as to the steep hillsides along the south portion of the city and lower northeast hillsides. The area surrounding the city is sometimes referred to as the

Thompson Country Thompson Country, also referred to as The Thompson and sometimes as the Thompson Valley and historically known as the Couteau Country or Couteau District, is a historic geographic region of the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of Britis ...

Robert W. Service Robert William Service (16 January 1874 – 11 September 1958) was an English-born Canadian poet and writer, often called “The Poet of the Yukon" and "The Canadian Kipling". Born in Lancashire of Scottish descent, he was a bank clerk by trade ...

in 1904 described Kamloops as his delightful life and wrote "Life was pleasant, and the work was light. At four o'clock we were on our horses, riding over the rolling ridges, or into spectral gulches that rose to ghostlier mountains. It was like the scenery of Mexico, weirdly desolate and aridly morose. A discouraging land, forbidding in its weariness and resigned to ruin."

areas begin just to the northeast of the downtown core but are not within the city limits. As a result of this placement, it is necessary to leave Kamloops' city limits and pass through the band lands before re-entering the city limits to access the northernmost communities of

Rayleigh Rayleigh may refer to: Science *Rayleigh scattering *Rayleigh–Jeans law *Rayleigh waves *Rayleigh (unit), a unit of photon flux named after the 4th Baron Rayleigh *Rayl, rayl or Rayleigh, two units of specific acoustic impedance and characte ...

and

Heffley Creek Heffley Creek is a neighbourhood of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada along British Columbia Highway 5, Highway 5 (the Yellowhead Highway). The city's northernmost community, it is bordered by the North Thompson River to the west, Sun Pea ...

. Kamloops is surrounded by the smaller communities of Cherry Creek, Pritchard,

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

, Scotch Creek,

Adams Lake Adams Lake is a deep, cold-water lake in south-central British Columbia, which separates the Thompson Country, Thompson and Shuswap Country, Shuswap regions and the Thompson–Nicola Regional District, Thompson–Nicola and Columbia–Shuswap R ...

Chase Chase or CHASE may refer to: Businesses * Chase Bank, a national American financial institution * Chase UK, a British retail bank * Chase Aircraft (1943–1954), a defunct American aircraft manufacturer * Chase Coaches, a defunct bus operator in ...

, Paul Lake,

Pinantan Pinantan Lake is an unincorporated community, encircling the larger lake of the same name, in the Thompson region of south central British Columbia. The locality is by road about northwest of Pritchard and northeast of Kamloops. Lake descrip ...

and various others.

Neighbourhoods

The following are the officially recognized neighbourhoods within the city of Kamloops. Informally recognized sub-areas are listed beneath the neighbourhoods to which they belong: *

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

**Pacific Way *

Barnhartvale Barnhartvale, originally Barnhart Vale, is located at the southeast end of Kamloops, south of Dallas in British Columbia, Canada. The area includes riding stables, farms, and ranches. There is a local Esso gas station, and a local elementary schoo ...

* Batchelor Heights **Batchelor Hills **Lac Du Bois * Brocklehurst **Airport Entry Corridor **Brock Centre **North Kamloops West **Ord Road * Campbell Creek *

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

* Downtown **Columbia Precinct **Downtown Core **East End **East Entry Corridor **Waterfront District **West Entry Corridor * Dufferin *

* Juniper Ridge *

Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East district, in Cheshire, England; it is located south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and south-east of Warrington. The population of the parish at the 2021 Uni ...

* Lower Sahali * Mission Flats * Noble Creek * North Kamloops **8th St Corridor **Halston Corridor **John Tod **McDonald Park **North Kamloops West **North Shore Town Centre **Schubert Drive **Tranquille Market **Tranquille South * Pineview *

* Rose Hill * Sagebrush * Southgate *

(TRU) * Tranquille * Upper Sahali * Valleyview **Orchard's Walk * West End **College Heights **Guerin Creek **Hudson's Ridge **McIntosh Heights **Powers Addition * Westsyde ** Westmount ** Oak Hills

Climate

The climate of Kamloops is

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

BSk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK ...

'') due to its

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

location. Kamloops gets short cold snaps where temperatures can drop to around or below when

Arctic air ''Arctic Air'' is a Canadian drama television series that began airing on CBC Television on January 10, 2012. The series was canceled on March 17, 2014, due to government budgetary cuts. Synopsis ''Arctic Air'' is about a Yellowknife-based mave ...

manages to cross the

Rockies The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

and

Columbia Mountains The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges along the Upper Columbia River in British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington (state), Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km² (52,491 sq mi). The range is bounded by th ...

into the

Interior Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

Kamloops has the third mildest winter of any non-coastal city in Canada, after

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...

and

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

. The coldest months are December and January, when the mean temperatures are and . That average sharply increases with an average maximum temperature of in February. Between November and January the area experiences abundant cloud cover due to a continual series of Pacific coastal Low Pressure systems crossing British Columbia, reducing the annual sunshine output, despite very sunny summers. The average number of days where the minimum temperatures drops below per year is 19 as recorded by

Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; )Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment (). is the Ministry (government department), department ...

.The average number of days where the Maximum temperature goes above is 36, above is 8 days. Although Kamloops is above 50° north latitude, growing seasons are long, with hot periods every summer under dry and sunny weather. Daytime

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

often drops below 20% during dry periods, which allows for substantial nighttime cooling. Occasional summer thunderstorms can create dry-lightning conditions, sometimes igniting forest fires which the area is prone to. Kamloops lies in the rain shadow leeward of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

and is biogeographically connected to similar semi-desert areas in the

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of ...

region, and a much larger area covering the central/eastern portions of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

intermontane Intermontane is a physiographic adjective formed from the prefix " inter-" (''signifying among, between, amid, during, within, mutual, reciprocal'') and the adjective "montane" (inhabiting, or growing in mountainous regions, especially cool, mo ...

areas of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

in the US. These areas of relatively similar climate have many distinctive native plants and animals in common, such as

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

(''Pinus ponderosa''),

big sagebrush '' Artemisia tridentata'', commonly called big sagebrush,MacKay, Pam (2013), ''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', 2nd ed., , p. 264. Great Basin sagebrush or simply sagebrush (one of several related species of this name), is an aromatic shrub from the ...

(''Artemisia tridentata''), prickly pear cactus ('' Opuntia fragilis'' in this case),

rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...

black widow spider ''Latrodectus'' is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. However ...

s and

Lewis's woodpecker Lewis's woodpecker (''Melanerpes lewis'') is a large North American species of woodpecker which ornithologist Alexander Wilson named after Meriwether Lewis, one of the explorers who surveyed the areas bought by the United States of America as pa ...

. The highest temperature ever recorded in Kamloops was on 29 June 2021, which was the fourth-highest reading recorded in Canada, and the highest recorded in any city, during the infamous

2021 Western North America heat wave The 2021 Western North America heat wave was an extreme heat wave that affected much of Western North America from late June through mid-July 2021. The heat wave affected Northern California, Idaho, Western Nevada, Oregon, and Washington in ...

. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on 16 and 18 January 1950.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Kamloops had a population of 97,902 living in 39,914 of its 41,619 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 90,280. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. At the

census metropolitan area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...

(CMA) level in the 2021 census, the Kamloops CMA had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Religious groups

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Kamloops included: *

irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...

(57,245; 60.5%) *

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

(31,790; 33.6%) *

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

(2,005; 2.1%) *

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

(995; 1.1%) *

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

(890; 0.9%) *

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(440 persons or 0.5%) * Indigenous spirituality (190; 0.2%) *

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

(85; 0.1%) * Other religions (925; 1.0%)

Ethnicity

*Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

Chinese Canadians

Kamloops historically had a

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

on Victoria Street where most ethnic Chinese lived. John Stewart of the

Kamloops Museum and Archives The Kamloops Museum and Archives is a museum and archives located in the West End of the city of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Located at 207 Seymour Street in downtown Kamloops, at the corner of 2nd Avenue. In addition to historical exhibit ...

stated it was not a "true

". It was established by Chinese immigrants by 1887, and by 1890 the community had up to 400 Chinese. Stewart said this was an "amazingly large" population for the rural area. By the 1890s, about 33% of Kamloops were ethnic Chinese; they worked primarily on construction of the

.Hewlett, Jason.
Chinese museum would right historical wrongs, Kamloops group says

Archive
. ''

Times Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific ...

''. 31 October 2013. Retrieved on 26 January 2015. Economic changes in Kamloops resulted in many Chinese seeking work elsewhere. In addition, there were two fires in 1892 and 1893, and a 1911–1914 demolition that dismantled the Chinatown. Peter Wing, the first ethnic Chinese mayor in North America, was elected in 1966 and served three terms as the Mayor of Kamloops. In the 1880s the Kamloops' Chinese Cemetery was founded in Kamloops, the only one in the province dedicated to Chinese pioneers. It is one of the largest cemeteries in the province, but the last interment was made there in the 1960s. In 2013 the provincial government announced it would begin a consultation process to discuss wording of a formal apology to Chinese in B.C. for past wrongs. Joe Leong, president of the Kamloops Chinese Cultural Association, said he believed that the province should build a museum to honour Chinese history in the province, as a way to recognize the contributions of the people. As Kamloops had the only cemetery dedicated to the Chinese pioneers, he felt this city would be an appropriate site for the museum.

Economy

Kamloops' economy includes healthcare, tourism, education, transportation, and natural resource extraction industries. The Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) is the city's largest employer. RIH is the region's acute care and health facility and is one of two tertiary referral hospitals in the Southern Interior with 239 acute beds and an additional 20 more beds upon completion of the expansion in 2016.

(TRU) serves a student body of 25,754 including a diverse international contingent mainly from Asian countries. Thompson Rivers University, Open Learning (TRU-OL) is the biggest distance education provider in British Columbia and one of the biggest in Canada. Heavy industries in the Kamloops area include primary resource processing such as

Domtar Domtar Corporation is a leading, privately held manufacturer of diversified forest products, with a workforce of roughly 14,000 employees in more than 60 locations across North America. While Domtar operated independently for several decades a ...

Kamloops Pulp Mill, Tolko-Heffley Creek Plywood and Veneer, New Gold Inc - New Afton Mine, and Highland Valley Copper Mine (in

Logan Lake Logan Lake is a district municipality in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. History It was founded in the 1960s and 1970s to support copper, molybdenum and other mineral mining operations located south of the town. The Villag ...

). Four major highways join in Kamloops, the BC Highway 1 (

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

), the Coquihalla Highway ( BC highway 5 south of the city), the

Yellowhead Highway The Yellowhead Highway () is a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada that runs from Winnipeg west to Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia via Saskatoon and Edmonton. It stretches across the four western provinces of Britis ...

(BC Highway 5 north of the city) and BC Highway 97, making it a transportation hub and a place which attracts business. There are over 50 trucking and transport companies located in Kamloops that ship across Canada and into the United States. Both the Canadian Pacific Railway and the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

service Kamloops with both lines running through the city.

Tourism

Kamloops welcomed 1.8 million visitors in 2017, a 9% increase from 2015 (1.64 million). Tourism's economic ROI is immense. A$1.8 million destination marketing budget returned $449 million in economic benefit in 2017.The annual Direct Visitor Expenditure is estimated at $270 million, a 19% increase from 2015 ($227 million). Further, the total estimated tourism economic impact was $449 million in 2017, a 32.4% increase from 2015 ($339 million). Tourism generates many types of income for the region, including business income, wage earnings, share earnings, rates and levies. Conservation springs from industry-wide support for management, research and education initiatives that benefit everyone through

responsible tourism Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social, and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. ...

management. Kamloops has over 50 accommodation choices from major hotels to bed and breakfasts. Accommodation occupancy rates were 61.5% in 2017, up 2.6% from 2016.

Arts and culture

Kamloops culture has grown in recent years to celebrate local talent that includes: culinary arts, sports, live entertainment, and fine art. Kamloops hosts a range of cultural events year-round including: *Kamloops Wine Festival: This annual festival is a fundraiser for the Kamloops Art Gallery. *Kamloops Film Festival: Since 1997, this festival has grown to celebrate international films at Paramount Theatre for ten days in March. *River Beaver Classic: This annual, mountain biking festival hosts four events over one weekend in April with all money raised going to local trail maintenance. *Brewloops Brewloops is a non-profit, beer, food, and bike festival that celebrates Kamloops culture with block parties on The Shore and Downtown throughout the year. *Kamloops International Buskers Festival: This four-day festival takes place throughout Riverside Park and showcases professional buskers from around the globe. *Hot Nite in the City Show 'n' Shine: This weekend-long event takes place every August downtown and showcases Street Rods, Customs, American Muscle, Sport-compact, Electric Vehicles and more. *Kamloops Rotary Ribfest: Western Canada's largest rib festival, Ribfest takes place every August at Riverside Park. By 2018, Kamloops Rotary had raised over $500,000 for local charities. *Salute to the Sockeye Festival: This festival celebrates the return of

sockeye salmon The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a ...

to the Adams River at

Tsútswecw Provincial Park Tsútswecw Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located northeast of Kamloops and northwest of Salmon Arm. It stretches along the banks of the Adams River, between the south end of Adams Lake and the western portion ...

from the end of September through mid-October each year. *Interior Wellness Festival: Since 2008, this event has promoted healthy living in BC including workshops with yogis, authors, and business experts. *Kamloops Comedy Fest: Canadian comedians take over the microphone for a weekend each October during Kamloops Comedy Fest. *Words Alive Kamloops: Formerly the Kamloops Writers Festival, this annual event features Canadian authors showcasing their work through public readings and events, as well as conducting workshops on a variety of topics.

Performing and fine arts

Kamloops is home to many galleries including nationally recognized Kamloops Art Gallery,

Secwepemc Museum and Heritage Park The Secwepemc Museum and Heritage Park is an indoor and outdoor museum with the purpose of preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of the Secwépemc people, located in Kamloops, British Columbia. Displays The inside of the museum has four ...

; the Kamloops Museum and Archives, the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, and

Western Canada Theatre Western Canada Theatre is a professional theatre company located in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1975 by Tom Kerr under the name Western Canada Youth Theatre. It currently offers seven live performances throughout the ...

. There are 29 outdoor murals – the Back Alley Art Gallery- throughout downtown Kamloops that the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association has spearheaded since the 2000s. Artists that have contributed to this project include: Zack Abney; Kylene Cachelin; Evan Christina; Kelly Wright; Ken Wells; Alex Moir-Porteus; Robin Hodgson; Jack Morris;

Janice Gurney Janice Gurney (born 1949) is a Canadian contemporary artist born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She graduated University of Manitoba in 1973 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours degree and later received a Master of Visual Studies degree from University of ...

, and Marianna Abutalipova. Project X Theatre, an outdoor theatre festival located in Kamloops. The company creates a summer outdoor theatre festival in Prince Charles Park, just east of Downtown Kamloops. Established in 2006, Project X Theatre originally produced productions of Shakespeare, however, recently the company has shifted over to more family friendly shows. Randi Edmundson is the current Artistic Director. Previous artistic directors include Samantha MacDonald, Derek Rein, Heather Cant, Melissa purcha, and Dušan Magdolen. The

is a professional theatre company located in Kamloops. The company manages and performs in two spaces: the 706 seat Sagebrush Theatre and the 150-seat Pavilion Theatre. James MacDonald is the current artistic director of the theatre company. Previous artistic directors include Tom Kerr (founder), Frank Glassen, David Ross, Michael Dobbin, John Cooper, Jeremy Tow, and Daryl Cloran.

Attractions

Popular attractions include: the Adams River Sockeye Salmon Run; Kamloops Bike Ranch; BC Wildlife Park;

; Kamloops Wine Trail; Secwepemc Museum, and Tranquille Sanatorium Since 2012, four wineries have been established in the Thompson Valley wine region including: Sagewood Winery; Harper's Trail Winery; Monte Creek Ranch Winery, and Privato Vineyard and Winery. Since 2010, five micro-breweries have opened up in Kamloops including: Noble Pig Brewhouse; Red Collar Brewing, Alchemy Brewing, Bright Eye Brewing and Iron Road Brewing. Since 2020, some craft distilleries have opened up in Kamloops including: Route 1 Distillery

Food and drink

Since 2007, Chefs in the City has been established as a "celebration of culinary arts, fine wine and beer from Kamloops and the surrounding region." This annual event is presented by the Rotary Club of Kamloops and had raised over $400,000 by 2020. Kamloops is emerging as an award-winning wine region with a climate perfect for growing grapes. It is home to four award-winning wineries: Harper's Trail, Monte Creek Ranch, Privato and Sagewood. Kamloops has over 120 acres under vine. The top grapes planted by local wineries are

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

pinot gris Pinot gris, pinot grigio (, ), or ''Grauburgunder'' is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but th ...

pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

Marechal Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general, Marshal of France and a member of the Académie Française and Académie des Sciences. He distinguished himself as Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front during ...

and Marquette. Since 1998, the Kamloops Wine Festival has taken place in the spring as a fundraiser to support the Kamloops Art Gallery. The Kamloops Wine Festival had raised over $200,000 by 2018. In 2014, Brewloops Beer Festival was established as a non-profit organization that promotes Kamloops culture across the city throughout the year. Brewloops celebrates BC

craft beer Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

, music, and entertainment with the wider Kamloops community and had donated $27,000 to community groups by 2018. Bands that have performed at Brewloops include:

Delhi 2 Dublin Delhi 2 Dublin (sometimes abbreviated D2D) is a Canadian world music group formed in 2006 in Vancouver who play a fusion of Bhangra (music), Bhangra, electronic music, electronic, funk, dub music, dub, reggae, hip hop, Celtic music and a mashup of ...

Yukon Blonde Yukon Blonde is a Canadian indie rock band originally from Kelowna, British Columbia.Derdeyn, Stuart (April 22, 2010).Yukon Blonde feels the love: Indie band adding plenty of fans on cross-country tour", ''Ottawa Citizen''. Retrieved May 5, 2010. ...

, and at Mission Dolores.

Recreation

Kamloops is an outdoor mecca for activities like hiking and mountain biking with an extensive trail network for year-round adventure. Multiple nearby lakes offer paddling, kayaking and fishing. Known as the ''Tournament Capital of Canada,'' Kamloops has hosted many tournaments and is home to a range of professional athletes from many sports. Kamloops has the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame, which includes

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

bronze medallist Dylan Armstrong and the National Finalist Roma's soccer team.

Fishing

With 100 lakes within an hour's drive, Kamloops has some of the best freshwater fishing in North America. Every year, the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC stocks lakes in the Thompson-Nicola region with roughly 1,000,000 fish including

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

, and

kokanee salmon The kokanee salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also known as the kokanee trout, little redfish, silver trout, kikanning, Kennerly's salmon, Kennerly's trout, or walla, is the non anadromous form of the sockeye salmon (meaning that they do not mig ...

. Kamloops is known for its professional anglers including Brian Chan, Jordan Oelrich, and Brennan Lund. Fishing guides in the Kamloops area include: DNA Fly Fishing; Interior Fly Fishing; Maricle Fly Fishing; Riseform Flyfishing; and Fast Action Fishing Adventures.

Mountain biking

Kamloops' extensive trail network and desert-like climate creates conditions for year-round

across the city. Popular parks include the Kamloops Bike Ranch, Pineview Valley;

Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area is a protected area located north of Kamloops in British Columbia, Canada. The protected area was established by BC Parks on 30 April 1996 to protect a unique mixed forest-grassland ecosystem overlooking the N ...

, and

Kenna Cartwright Park Kenna Cartwright Park is a municipal park located in Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson ...

. Two time UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships – Women's cross-country (

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

), gold at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

and

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

bronze medallist

Catharine Pendrel Catharine Pendrel (born September 30, 1980) is a Canadians, Canadian Cross-country cycling, cross-country mountain biker from Harvey, New Brunswick. A member of the Canadian National team since 2004, Pendrel was the world champion in cross-count ...

lives and trains in Kamloops. Kamloops is home to world-famous mountain bikers such as freeride pioneers and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame members

Wade Simmons Wade Simmons (born 20 September 1973) is a mountain biker from Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada who has won the Red Bull Rampage The Red Bull Rampage is an invitation-only freeride mountain bike competition held near Zion National Park in Vi ...

, Brett Tippie, (also a former Canadian National Team member for

snowboard cross Snowboard cross, also known as boardercross, is a snowboard competition in which four to six competitors race down a course. Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, ...

and giant slalom), and Richie Schley. Freeriders Matt Hunter, and

Graham Agassiz Graham Agassiz (born 8 January 1990) is a Canadian freeride mountain biker from Kamloops, British Columbia. Agassiz travels internationally, and has participated in mountain bike films and competitions. He is a bronze medalist from 2015 Red Bu ...

also live in Kamloops. Kamloops was featured in the first mountain bike film by

Greg Stump Greg Stump is an American champion skier, ski and snowboarding filmmaker, and music video director. Early ski career Born in San Diego, his family then moved to Maine where Greg learned to ski at nearby Pleasant Mountain. He was the U.S. nation ...

, ''Pulp Traction'', and later the first three ''

Kranked Kranked is a series of extreme freeride mountain-biking films. Since 1997, Bjørn Enga, producer/director for Radical Films has specialized in extreme mountain bike cinematography. His work has won the People's Choice Award at the Banff Mountai ...

'' films, which starred the original Fro Riders, Tippie, Simmons and Schley. Ongoing trail maintenance has been spearheaded by local organizations such as the Kamloops Bike Riders Association, Kamloops Performance Cycling Centre, and Dirt Chix Kamloops.

Golf

Kamloops has highest number of golf courses (13) per capita in Canada and boasts one of Canada's most diverse golf landscapes. Golfers enjoy three seasons of golf due to the dry and hot climate of the area. Several of the local golf courses have been designed by famous golf architects such as

Robert Trent Jones Robert Trent Jones Sr. (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a British–American golf course architect who designed or re-designed more than 500 golf courses in 45 U.S. states and 35 countries. In reference to this, Jones took pride in saying, ...

, Graham Cooke, and

Tom McBroom Thomas McBroom, (born September 17, 1952) is a Canadian golf course architect. McBroom is the principal and founder of Thomas McBroom Associates Ltd., a Toronto-based landscape architecture firm specializing in golf course design. McBroom holds a ...

. The 13 courses include: Tobiano Golf Course; The Dunes, Talking Rock Golf Course; Pineridge Golf Course; Rivershore Estates; Big Horn Golf & Country Club; Kamloops Golf & Country Club; Sun Peaks Golf; Eagle Point Golf Course; Mount Paul Golf Course, and Chinook Cove Golf.

Skiing

Sun Peaks Resort is a nearby ski and snowboard hill. Olympic medallist skier

Nancy Greene Raine Nancy Catherine Greene Raine (born May 11, 1943) is a former Canadian Senator for British Columbia and an Olympic alpine champion voted as Canada's Female Athlete of the 20th Century. She was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Greene Raine wo ...

is director of skiing at Sun Peaks and the former chancellor of Thompson Rivers University. The Overlander Ski Club runs the Stake Lake

cross country ski Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

area with of trails. Lacrosse teams include the

Thompson Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League The Thompson Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League (TOJLL) is one of two Junior B Tier 1 box lacrosse leagues sanctioned by the British Columbia Lacrosse Association in British Columbia, Canada. The league champion competes for the British Columbia Ju ...

's Kamloops Junior B Venom, as well as the

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

team the

Kamloops Storm The Kamloops Storm are a junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Doug Birks Division of the Okanagan/Shuswap Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League ( ...

. Also calling Kamloops home is the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to professional footbal ...

Kamloops Broncos The Kamloops Broncos are a Canadian Junior Canadian Football, football team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The Broncos play in the seven-team B.C. Football Conference (BCFC), which is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and c ...

, and

Pacific Coast Soccer League The Pacific Coast Soccer League is an amateur Association football, soccer league, currently featuring teams from British Columbia. In the past, clubs from Washington (state), Washington and Oregon have competed. The Pacific Coast Soccer Leagu ...

's Kamloops Excel, both of whom play at

Hillside Stadium Hillside Stadium is a multi-purpose, fully lit stadium located next to Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. It is the home of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, Kamloops Broncos of the Canadian Junior Football League, and the K ...

Other recreation

The Kamloops Rotary Skatepark at

McArthur Island McArthur may refer to: People * McArthur (surname) Geography * McArthur, Arkansas, an unincorporated town in Desha County * McArthur, California, in Shasta County * McArthur, Modoc County, California * McArthur, Ohio * McArthur Basin, a large int ...

Park is one of Canada's largest skateboard parks. Also located at McArthur Island Park is NorBrock Stadium, the McArthur Island Sports and Events Centre and the McArthur Island Curling Club. The city boasts 82 parks which are great for hiking, including Kenna Cartwright Park, the largest municipal park in British Columbia.

Sports

Hockey

Kamloops is home to the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference and plays its home games at the Sandman Centre. The Blaze ...

who play at the

. Alumni of the Kamloops Blazers include

Mark Recchi Mark Louis Recchi (; born February 1, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, and he played f ...

Jarome Iginla Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla (; born July 1, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger. He played over 1,500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Pittsbu ...

Darryl Sydor Darryl Marion Sydor (born May 13, 1972) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He won two Stanley Cups during his career: with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. He also reached the Sta ...

, Nolan Baumgartner, Shane Doan, Scott Niedermayer, Rudy Poeschek and Darcy Tucker (Recchi, Doan, Iginla, and Sydor are now part-owners of the club). Two-time champion coach Ken Hitchcock would later win the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars. On 6 February 2016, Kamloops hosted ''Hockey Night in Canada#Hockey Day in Canada, Hockey Day in Canada'' with Ron MacLean and Don Cherry (ice hockey), Don Cherry.

Baseball

Kamloops is the home of the West Coast League's Kamloops NorthPaws who play at NorBrock Stadium.

Sports tournaments

Kamloops hosted the 1993 Canada Games, Canada Summer Games. It co-hosted (with Vancouver and

) the IIHF World Junior Championship from 26 December 2005 to 5 January 2006. It hosted the 2006 BC Summer Games and 2018 BC Winter Games. In the summer of 2008, Kamloops, and its modern facility the

played host to the U15 boys and girls Basketball National Championship. Kamloops hosted the World Masters Athletics Championships, World Masters Indoor Championships in March 2010. Kamloops hosted the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games. Kamloops hosted the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier (The Canadian Men's Curling Championships). Kamloops hosted the 2014 4 Nations Cup, 2014 edition of the 4 Nations Cup. Kamloops hosted the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship, 2016 IIHF Women’s World Championship at both

and the MacArthur Island Sports and Event Centre.

Government

Elections into the municipality in Kamloops are held with the rest of the province every four years. Provincially, Kamloops is considered to be bellwether, having voted for the governing party in every provincial election since the introduction of parties to British Columbian elections, until 2017. By contrast, Kamloops has regularly voted against the party in power federally until the 2006 Canadian federal election, 2006 Federal election. Kamloops is represented in two provincial Electoral district (Canada), ridings – Kamloops-South Thompson and Kamloops-North Thompson – and one federal riding – Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. * Mayor – Reid Hamer-Jackson, 2022 * Members of the Legislative Assembly: ** Todd Stone, Kamloops-South Thompson ** Peter Milobar, Kamloops-North Thompson Federal members of parliament: * Frank Caputo (2021–present) Conservative Party of Canada * Cathy McLeod (2008–2021) Conservative Party of Canada * Betty Hinton (2000–2008) Canadian Alliance and Conservative Party of Canada * Nelson Riis (1980–2000) New Democratic Party * Donald Niel Cameron, Don Cameron (1979–1980) Progressive Conservative Party of Canada * Leonard Marchand (1968–1979) Liberal Party of Canada

Infrastructure

Transportation

Kamloops is located at the crossroads of the British Columbia Highway 5, Coquihalla Highway,

, and

and is a transportation hub in the region. The Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian Pacific (CPR) and Canadian National (CNR) mainline routes connect Vancouver in the west with Kamloops. The two railways diverge; CNR to the north and CPR and east, continuing to the rest of Canada.

is served two times per week (in each direction) by Via Rail's ''Canadian (train), Canadian''. The

and the

both use the

. Kamloops is home to Kamloops Airport (YKA). Airlines flying to Kamloops include: Air Canada Express, WestJet Encore, Canadian North, and Central Mountain Air, as well as three cargo airlines. Vancouver and Calgary are primary routes for passenger service to this regional airport. In 2018, Air Canada Rouge launched non-stop seasonal service from Kamloops to Toronto. Greyhound Canada previously connected Kamloops with Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, with service ending at the end of October 2018. After Greyhound's departure, several companies stepped in and commenced intercity service. Ebus (intercity bus), Ebus and Rider Express both provide service to Vancouver and in between cities and towns, with Ebus connecting to other Interior cities like Kelowna and Vernon, and Rider Express continuing east to Calgary. Local bus service is provided by Kamloops Transit System and funded through BC Transit with 14 routes across the Kamloops area that are operated by contractor First Student Canada. In 2018, the City of Kamloops partnered with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc to expand its services on Tk'emlups te Secwepemc land for Route 18: Mount Paul.

Education

Residential School

The Kamloops Indian Residential School, part of the

opened in 1893 and ran until 1977. In May 2021, the possible remains of 200 children were detected in the graveyard soil by ground penetrating radar at the site of the school. The remains were located with the assistance of

, and work was underway to determine if related records about the identities of the dead are held at the Royal British Columbia Museum. In a statement released by the First Nations Health Authority, CEO Richard Jock said: "That this situation exists is sadly not a surprise and illustrates the damaging and lasting impacts that the residential school system continues to have on First Nations people, their families and communities."

K-12

Public schools in Kamloops and adjacent communities are run by School District 73 Kamloops/Thompson. Private schools include Kamloops Christian School, Our Lady of Perpetual Help School (Catholic), and St. Ann's Academy (Kamloops), St. Ann's Academy (Catholic). The Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique operates école Collines-d’or, a Francophone primary school.

Post-secondary

offers a range of undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as certificate and diploma programs. It has satellite campuses in: * Clearwater, British Columbia, Clearwater * Barriere, British Columbia, Barriere *

* Williams Lake, British Columbia, Williams Lake * 100 Mile House * Cache Creek, British Columbia, Cache Creek * Ashcroft, British Columbia, Ashcroft * Lillooet Thompson Rivers University also has an open-learning division. Thompson Rivers University, Open Learning (TRU-OL) is the biggest distance and E-learning, online education provider in British Columbia and one of the biggest in Canada. The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack are the athletic teams that represent Thompson Rivers University. Thompson Career College and Sprott Shaw College are private post-secondary institutions with campuses in Kamloops.

Media

The city's main daily newspaper was ''The Kamloops Daily News'' which ceased publication in 2014. The city was also home to ''Kamloops This Week'', a free newspaper which ceased publication in 2023.

Notable people

Below is a list of people who are from Kamloops, or who lived there for an extended period.

Historical figures

* Robert Barton (RAF officer), Robert Barton, flying ace of the Second World War * Edward Bellew, recipient of the Victoria Cross. * Jim Chamberlin, aerodynamicist, who contributed to the design of the Canadian Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow, Avro Arrow; NASA's Project Mercury, Project Gemini and the Apollo program. * Kanao Inouye, the notorious "Kamloops Kid", the first of the two Canadians ever convicted of war crimes. * Allan McLean (outlaw), Allan McLean, son of Donald McLean and leader of the outlaw gang known as the Wild McLean Boys. * Donald McLean (fur trader), Donald McLean, former Chief Trader of Fort Kamloops and one of the casualties of the Chilcotin War. * Frank Robert Miller, former Deputy minister (Canada), deputy minister of the Department of National Defence (Canada), National Defence. * Nicola (Okanagan leader), Chief Nicola, conjoint chief of the Nicola people, Nicolas and the Kamloops Secwepemc during the fur trade and gold rush eras. * Johnny Ussher, settler, provincial magistrate and gold commissioner (killed by Allan McLean). * Mark Sweeten Wade, medical doctor, newspaperman and historian.

Politicians

* Jack Davis (Canadian politician), Jack Davis, politician who was elected to both the Parliament of Canada and Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. * Jodie Emery – marijuana activist and politician. * Jack Frazer, John L. Frazer, politician: member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 1997. * Davie Fulton, politician: member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1945 to 1963, and 1965 to 1968. Son of Frederick John Fulton. * Frederick John Fulton, British born politician and lawyer, father of Davie Fulton. * Phil Gaglardi, aka Flying Phil, former Provincial Minister of Highways and Mayor of the city. * Leonard Marchand, Queen's Privy Council for Canada, QPC, Order of Canada, CM, the first person of First Nations in Canada, First Nations ethnicity to serve in the Cabinet of Canada, federal cabinet and the first Indian Register, Status Indian to serve as a member of parliament. * Nelson Riis, former Kamloops Teacher, Professor, alderman and Director of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, longtime federal MP for Kamloops. * Peter Wing, North America's first elected mayor of Chinese descent, elected in 1966 and served three terms in Kamloops.

Athletes

, freeride (mountain biking), freeride mountain biker, bronze medal at Red Bull Rampage 2015. * Dylan Armstrong, Olympic shot putter who finished 4th in the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 Olympics but subsequently was awarded the bronze medal in 2015 after the 3rd place putter Andrei Mikhnevich from Belarus tested positive for drugs post 2008 Olympics. * Don Ashby, former National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey player. * Murray Baron, former NHL ice hockey player. * Mitch Berger, former National Football League (NFL) player. * Rick Boh, former NHL ice hockey player. * Corryn Brown, Canadian curler, skip of the 2013 Canadian Junior Curling Championships winning rink, 2012 Winter Youth Olympics bronze medallist. * Jim Cotter (curler), Jim Cotter, Canadian curler, 2013 Olympic Trials runner up, 2014 Tim Hortons Brier silver medallist. * Craig Endean, former NHL ice hockey player. * Todd Esselmont, ice and roller hockey player. * Erin Gammel, is a swimmer who competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics. * Stu Grimson, former NHL ice hockey player. * Don Hay, former NHL head coach. * Jessica Hewitt, short track speed skater, silver medallist at the 2014 Winter Olympics, 2014 Sochi Olympics. * Joe Hicketts, 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Champion, Detroit Red Wings defenceman. * Ethan Katzberg, track & field athlete, 2023 Hammer Throw World Champion and Canadian Record holder * Murray Kennett, is a former World Hockey Association (WHA) ice hockey player. * Doug Lidster, former NHL ice hockey player. *John Ludvig, professional ice hockey player * Bert Marshall, former NHL ice hockey player. * Spencer McLennan, Former Canadian Football League (CFL) player. * Don Moen (Canadian football), Don Moen, Former CFL football player. * Josie Morrison, Canadian speedskater, 2018 Winter Olympics, 2018 Winter Olympian. * Bob Mowat, former WHA ice hockey player. *Brendon Nash, former NHL ice hockey player *Riley Nash, Toronto Maple Leafs NHL hockey player * Shane Niemi, is a Canadian Sprint (running), sprinter. * Kelly Olynyk, Toronto Raptors and Canada men's national basketball team, Canada international basketball player. * Paul Osbaldiston, former CFL football player. *

, Cross-country cycling, cross country mountain biker, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, 2011 and 2014 World Champion * Rudy Poeschek, former National Hockey League, NHL player. * Kevin Powell (Canadian football), Kevin Powell, former CFL football player. *

, named Canada's athletes of the 20th century, Canada's Athlete of the Century in 1999, Olympic skier who won gold for Canada in 1968, and 13 World Cups (the Canadian record) for a total of 17 Canadian Title Championships. *

, former NHL ice hockey player, three time Stanley Cup champion (1991, 2006, 2011), and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame * Justin Ring, former CFL football player * Peter Soberlak, former American Hockey League (AHL) professional ice hockey player. * Logan Stankoven, Carolina Hurricanes player, former captain of the

, and 2022 CHL Player of the Year. * Dave Vankoughnett, former CFL football player. * Tim Watters, former NHL ice hockey player.

Arts, culture and media

* Benjamin Ayres, actor, born in Kamloops. * Dan Bremnes, Christian musician, born in Kamloops. * Darril Fosty, award winning writer, raised in Kamloops. * Steven Galloway, novelist, was raised in Kamloops. * Elise Gatien, actress. * Boris Karloff, actor, joined the Jeanne Russell theatre company in Kamloops in September 1911. * Spencer Lord, actor * Chris Masuak, punk rock singer-songwriter, inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, born in Kamloops – lived in Brocklehurst (North Kamloops) in the 1960s. Now resides in Spain. * John Pozer, award-winning filmmaker. *

, poet and writer known for his ballads depicting the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897, he worked at Kamloops branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce from July to December 1904 before being transferred to Whitehorse.Sam Holloway,
Robert Service and Destiny
" ''The Yukoner Magazine''. Web, Accessed 2008.11.19. * Michael Shanks, actor, born in Vancouver, but grew up in Kamloops. * Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, First Nations painter.

Other notable people

* Nadine Caron, first female First Nations surgeon. * Andrew Collier, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy. * Patrick Crawford, tech entrepreneur and NASA research collaborator. * Vivian Dowding, leading birth control activist. * Mildred Gottfriedson, first First Nations individual inducted into the Order of Canada and founding member of the B.C. Native Women's Society. * Lesra Martin, resident lawyer who helped with Rubin Carter, Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter's prison release.

Planetary nomenclature

Mars KAMLOOPS Galle Craters Argyre Planitia

The city's name has been given to a Impact crater, crater on the surface of Mars. List of craters on Mars: H–N#K, Crater Kamloops was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (IAU/WGPSN) in 1991. The crater lies at 53.8° south latitude and 32.6° west longitude, with a diameter of .

Sister cities

* Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan * Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Philippines

In popular culture

Kamloops and surrounding areas have been used for various Hollywood films such as ''An Unfinished Life'', ''The A-Team (film), The A Team'', ''2012 (film), 2012'', ''The Pledge (film), The Pledge'', ''Shooter (2007 film), Shooter'', ''Firewall (film), Firewall'', ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (film), The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants'', ''Monster Trucks (film), Monster Trucks'', and various others. "The Eye of Jupiter (Battlestar Galactica), The Eye of Jupiter", the eleventh episode of the third season of ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' was filmed in Kamloops in 2006. In 2018, Kamloops was a filming location for the Netflix series ''Lost in Space (2018 TV series), Lost in Space'' and a filming location for ''Jurassic World: Dominion'' in 2020.

References

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Kamloops, 1811 establishments in Canada Cities in British Columbia Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Populated places established in 1811 Populated places in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District Thompson Country

History

Etymology

Geography

Neighbourhoods

Climate

Demographics

Religious groups

Ethnicity

Chinese Canadians

Economy

Tourism

Arts and culture

Performing and fine arts

Attractions

Food and drink

Recreation

Fishing

Mountain biking

Golf

Skiing

Other recreation

Sports

Hockey

Baseball

Sports tournaments

Government

Infrastructure

Transportation

Education

Residential School

K-12

Post-secondary

Media

Notable people

Historical figures

Politicians

Athletes

Arts, culture and media

Other notable people

Planetary nomenclature

Sister cities

In popular culture

See also

References

Notes

External links